


Hallow Eve in a Healer’s House

by khanh



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Fluff, Halloween, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-08 01:17:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21227396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khanh/pseuds/khanh
Summary: A healer returned on Hallow Eve night with a gift for his dearest.





	Hallow Eve in a Healer’s House

Hallow Eve was a big day in Moby Kingdom.

It was the national holiday, celebrated annually and took place at the beginning of winter. No one remembered when or how the tradition began, but everyone got excited when the eve was near. The holiday had two main purposes, dedicating love for the dead and celebrating magic, the most original form of power. Magic flowed rampantly around Moby, blessed the kingdom with prosperity and maintained peace among lands. On Hallow Eve, people carved pumpkins into Jack O’ Lanterns, decorated their houses with flowers and held costume contest. The most awaited event was the moon ceremony in which a giant cauldron was placed in the middle of the town. The townsfolk danced and boozed until the clock counted to twelve. When midnight struck, the liquid inside the cauldron would boiled and burst into firework.

.

.

. 

“There you go. Be careful okay? You don’t want to miss tonight.”

“Thank you, Healer Marco.”

The boy laughed cheerfully, swinging his leg back and forth. A few minutes ago, he was a terrified boy with a bruise on his leg who scared he wouldn’t be able to walk again. His father burst into tears and shook Marco’s hand affectionately. Besides the payment for the treat, he also offered Marco a small bag as the Hallow Eve’s gift.

Marco saw the duo out and glanced at the horizon. The sun was slowly sinking, dying in the sky in pomegranate pink. Hoping they were the last people needed him on Hallow Eve, Marco collected himself and closed the infirmary. The path to his house was filled with music and pumpkin’s smell. People reached out to him and sent their regards, thanking him for his hard work. Marco welcomed them back, got himself a bottle of wine and slowly made his way up the hill.

His house was quite isolated from the rest of the town. It was also the most beautiful house in the neighborhood, not that Marco was arrogant. Thanked to his Life Magic, he could bring vitality to living beings. The most prominent aspect of his power was healing, but if he really wanted to, he could make spring flora bloomed in winter. His garden always maintained a greenery and vibrant scene even in the coldest nights. Sometimes Marco would brought his flowers downtown for selling. His personal favorite was orange gerbera, fierce and vivid like a burning fire. The children loved to play in his garden and Marco welcomed them, as long as they didn’t step on the plants or pluck any flower without asking for his permission. However, about a year ago when Ace came and altered the backyard, the children only dared to look at his garden from afar.

Ace had a thing for peculiar creatures. Once a pirate who conquered the strangest lands, Ace had a collection of bizarre plants. While some in his collection were merely food ingredients, like paisley and rosemary, the rest were the floras that even Marco didn’t want to stay too close. Moreover, Ace made a fence out of thorn and ivy to protect the garden from naughty magic beings, which only worsened the townsfolk’s fear. The mayor had pleaded Marco to move his infirmary downtown, therefore every day he had to walk all the way down the hill for work.

Marco was attacked by the sweet scent of pumpkin soup when he opened the door. The sight of hot steaming bowls on the dining table made Marco smile. He hanged his bag on the wall and walked to the backyard. Ace was struggling with a pumpkin, cutting along a drawing mark at a very slow pace. His whole body was covered in pumpkin’s gut.

“Mr. Pumpkin is a tough old man.”

“Yeah, but I’m… not… giving… up…”

Ace gritted his teeth and shoved his knife deeper. Striker was sleeping by his leg, being a supportive pet as the cat always was.

In defense for Ace, the pumpkin wasn’t a regular one like those being sold in the market. It was a nurtured in Marco’s garden, being fed by his magic daily. Not only were they bigger than regular pumpkins, but also harder too.

Marco brushed the pumpkin’s gut off Ace’s hair, then he went to the storage to find an empty pot. When he returned, Ace was grinning sheepishly in front of his Jack O’ Lanterns. He even held one up high and laid a kiss on its cheek.

“Should I be jealous?”

“Can’t help myself. This one’s definitely my type.”

Ace smirked cockily and showed Marco the two Jack O’ Lanterns. Their appearances cracked Marco up. They took after him and Ace. One had half-lidded eyes and a lazy “meh” expression, the upper part was scraped to a pineapple-head shape. The other was grinning, little dots stood out on his cheek while the below part was shaped into circular shapes to made it looked like a bead necklace.

“To bad he’s taken by this guy,” Marco poked the Ace-like pumpkin, “I have a gift for you too.”

“Oh? What’s it?”

“Take off your gloves and open your hand.”

Ace took up the garden gloves and reached for his regular pair.

“I mean your bare hands Ace.”

“Eh… sure.”

Ace did as Marco said. Marco took a tiny thing from his pocket and put it into Ace’s palm. When Ace saw what it really was, he immediately yanked his hand back.

“Marco!”

“Trust me, Ace. Open your hand.”

“But Marco… I...”

Locking Ace’s eyes, Marco grasped his hand and squeezed it tight. Ace flinched. His eyes darted hesitatingly between Marco’s eyes and their hands. In the end, he sighed in defeat and Marco put the tiny seed into his palm again. Blue flame outburst and covered them both, embellished by golden sparks.

Being the son of the most notorious dark magic practitioner, Ace was cursed by the dark magic since his birth. The fact he had talent for fire magic only worsened the situation. Dark magic turned Ace’s fire into a powerful and destructive force. Since Ace became seventeen, he could no longer touch any living beings without burning them to decay; whatever he touched would soon crumbled into ash. Marco couldn’t count how many times he had seen the envy look on Ace’s face when the young man helped him taking care of their flower gardens and every time it wrenched his heart.

Lucky for Marco, his magic offered life. Normally, it was only strong enough to nullify Ace’s fire. Yet once a year, on the Great Hallow Eve night, his magic could reached its zenith.

“Can you feel it?”

Ace’s hand slightly shivered. He nervously stared at the small seed in his palm.

“---!” The seed cracked.

“Mar-Marco!”

“Don’t worry. Just hold your hand.”

The crack got bigger and bigger. Ace’s expression darkened. He anxiously looked at Marco and received an assuring smile. Swallowing hard, Ace focused on the little seed. After what felt like an eternity, a tiny green bud sprang up from the crack. Realization dawned upon Ace that the seed wasn’t breaking. It was germinating. The root emerged and crawled on his palm while a sprout sprang up, slowly grew and developed in to a small plant.

Then the leaves thrived, two of them, symmetrically placed on the stem. When they reached full maturity, a flower bud appeared on the top. The petals tightly wrapped around the new born, slowly releasing the gift of their bloom to the world. It had six petals, the inner three standing up while the bigger outer three drooping down, all fuzzy like tiny beards and as white as snow.

The process rendered Ace in awe.

“Touch it Ace,” Marco encouraged.

Its fragrance was elegant like a touch of an early snowflake on Ace’s nostrils. He hesitantly reached out one finger and yanked back right after the contact. He stared at the petal, fearing the flower would turn into ash, yet the fresh snow beauty on his hand remained resplendent. He gained more courage, lengthened the touch this time. A vigorous feeling lingered on the tip of his finger as he smoothened the petals.

“It’s beautiful, Marco,” Ace couldn’t hold his smile, “So soft. What’s its name?”

“Tall-bearded iris, Queen of the Angels. Purity, innocence, a loving relationship. A gift from my patient.”

Ace’s eyes went joyous like those of a child waiting to receive his first Christmas’s gift. His lips curled upward, the freckles shimmered under Marco’s azure flame.

“Thank you, Marco.”

_Worth it._

In that moment everything seemed to be right. Marco closed his eyes and savored the moment, letting the mellowness soak right into his soul. Contentment washed over him like a warm ocean wave, a blissful evocation of the time he had shared with Ace.

They had a lifetime to create more moment like this. Together.

“He gave me a full bag. We didn’t have them in our garden yet. Help me out tomorrow?”

**Author's Note:**

> The omake kiss that I want to write but have no idea how to include in the story:
> 
> Happy Halloween (･ω･)
> 
> And Happy MarAce Week too (･ω･)
> 
> .
> 
> .
> 
> . 
> 
> Marco laid a gentle kiss on Ace’s hair. Firework burst through the night sky, brilliant inks of light embellished the majestic moonlight. The Jack O' Lanterns sat happily side by side in front of the yard. Ace rested his back on Marco chest, humming along the music from the town.
> 
> “What did you wish for Marco?” 
> 
> “I already have him right here.”
> 
> “Cheesy.”
> 
> Ace laughed and cupped Marco’s face, brushing his thumb on the corner of Marco’s lip. Marco leaned down until they were only a breath away. He could see moonlight sparkled in Ace’s eyes.
> 
> “And yours?”
> 
> Ace answered with a kiss.
> 
> “I’m a cheesy guy too.”


End file.
